The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus and method.
In a photographing apparatus, such as a digital still camera, capable of photographing a still image, not only one still image but also a plurality of still images may be continuously photographed (continuous shooting). In a photographing apparatus having an optical system and a photographing system (photographing device) corresponding to the optical system, the following methods have been used to implement the continuous shooting: (1) performing photographing using only an electronic shutter, and not using a mechanical shutter, (2) performing an extraction reading and not reading a full frame from the whole photographing device, and (3) reading only one side field.
However, according to the method (1), when the photographing device is a CMOS device and a moving object is to be photographed, image quality is deteriorated due to the rolling shutter. Also, according to the methods (2) and (3), since the number of pixels decreases compared to the original characteristic of a photographing device, the resolution is deteriorated.
Also, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-190978 (“JP '978”) discloses that, in a photographing apparatus having an optical system and a plurality of photographing devices, transmitted light beyond the photographing lens is divided into a plurality of light rays by a prism and the divided light rays are received by other photographing devices. However, in JP '978, since a complicated optical system is needed, extensive time is required for manufacturing a photographing apparatus and also sensitivity is deteriorated due to the effect of the prism.